LONDON: To raised eyebrows and incredulity from some, Thorsten Heins, CEO of struggling BlackBerry, predicted the death of tablet computers within five years.

BlackBerry, which is attempting to revitalize its business with the launch of two phones, failed disastrously in its own efforts to launch a tablet device. The BlackBerry PlayBook, which was introduced in 2011, was bought by few and slated by critics. One of its biggest failings was that it shipped without built-in email.

“In five years, I don't think there'll be a reason to have a tablet anymore,” said Heins, speaking to Bloomberg. "Maybe a big screen in your workspace, but not a tablet as such. Tablets themselves are not a good business model."

He added that he also sees "BlackBerry to be the absolute leader in mobile computing" in five years. He said he wanted to gain as much market share “by being a copycat.”

BlackBerry is hoping that the Q10, with its physical keyboard, will win a place in the market, despite the desire of many for Apple and Samsung devices.

In a separate interview with Bloomberg TV, Heins said he was optimistic about BlackBerry's prospects for the Q10 and added there were good early signs in the UK.

"We have very, very good first signs already after the launch in the UK,” he said. “This is going into the installed base of more than 70 million BlackBerry users, so we have quite some expectations. We expect several tens of millions of units."

This story originally appeared on the website of Brand Republic, the sister publication of PRWeek at Haymarket Media.